O GREAT ONE

David Novak’s O GREAT ONE is a parable about the secret ingredient to engaging people and driving results. Based on real experiences that bestselling author David Novak has had as the Chair and CEO of Yum! Brands—and as a grandfather—the mission of O GREAT ONE is to empower people everywhere to drive results by recognizing the contributions of fellow employees.

Based on real experiences that bestselling author David Novak has had as the Chair and CEO of Yum! Brands—and as a grandfather—the mission of O GREAT ONE is to empower people everywhere to drive results by recognizing the contributions of fellow employees. It’s not hard, it’s not expensive, and you don’t need an MBA or even a position of authority to do it. It’s a deceptively simple principle, and if you make the effort to put it into practice regularly, it will have a huge impact on both your life and your business.

In O GREAT ONE, Jeff Johnson, the brand-new CEO of The Happy Face Toy Company, faces a huge challenge: He has one year to save his family’s famous toy company, which has fallen on hard times following the death of his father. If Jeff fails, the heart and soul of the company—the factory in Cleveland where its first toys were built—will be shut down. As Jeff races against the clock to save his family’s legacy, he faces an uphill battle against downtrodden factory workers and an uninspired executive team. As he struggles to get the company back on track, a birthday gift from his grandson gives Jeff an important insight into why business is suffering: The secret ingredient to making people happy and engaged is missing.

David Novak recently founded OGO Enterprises, the world’s first recognition brand targeted specifically at grandfathers. But even during his time as CEO of Yum!, he harnessed the power of employee recognition to revitalize the culture. The principles that Novak lives by, from handing out personalized awards to coaxing office culture into life, are outlined at the core of this parable.

David Novak is now the Executive Chair of Yum! Brands, following a successful 14-year run as the Chair and CEO. He has been recognized as the “2012 CEO of the Year” by Chief Executive magazine, one of the “30 Best CEOs” by Barron’s, one of the “Top People in Business” by Fortune, and one of the “100 Best Performing CEOS in the World” by Harvard Business Review. He is the author of two highly respected and critically acclaimed books, Education of an Accidental CEO and the New York Times bestseller Taking People With You.

Christa Bourg is a writer, editor, and book packager who lives in Los Angeles.